Daisy Duke is Fiction Remember

Car accidents are frightening situations that occur more recently than they should. It’s probable that almost every human being deals with at least one car accident in his or her life. At the age of seventeen, I have already been a part of three car accidents and after each occurrence, there are always things I have learned and things I wish I would’ve done. Even though I have received the nickname Daisy Duke and my knicked-up car can bring a few laughs to my friends driving is serious and should not be taken as a joke.

Like many other teenagers when I first received my driver’s license I believed that I was well-prepared for the roads and the practice that I performed with my permit trained me enough for the situations that will occur when I was alone and fully responsible for my actions on the road. I took every moment of driving with my parents seriously and they made sure to teach me all of the laws needed, but I still feel that to decrease crashes there are extra things that can be done to prepare new drivers. My idea is an online course that tracks the amount of time a user is on the platform and to receive your license the person needs to meet the minimum amount of time needed and pass quizzes that will be given for different road topics. I believe this would be a great way to make people more aware of the laws and more education is never a bad thing.

Car accidents are deadly and 42,939 citizens died because of motor vehicle crashes in 2021. The reasons vary from drunk driving to simply not paying attention. The chance of dying in a car accident is one in 103. That is a scary statistic and to reduce this number I believe that driver’s licenses should be renewed every ten years with a test included. Everyone is a totally different person than they were at the age of 16 when they got their license and even if people received their licenses later, they still change. A test would keep everyone in check and make sure that every one that is on the road meets the standards to be a driver.

Unfortunately, I have had my fair share of car accidents. I am grateful that none were too serious, but these situations definitely scared me and caused me to distrust other drivers. My first accident was on my third day as a driver. I was in the car with my younger brother and I needed to back out of a spot to leave from a basketball game. I backed out too far and dented the side of my friends’ fathers car. I was mortified and freaked out to drive. Thankfully everyone involved was okay, but I was still shaken up as I drove home. This uneasy feeling returned in my body once again months later when another accident occurred with me. This time I was driving and came upon a railroad crossing. When I crossed I missed the pavement and ended up running over the railroad. I had a flat tire and ripped the oil pan causing me to lose all of the oil. I pulled over and ended up having to be towed and not returning home until 1:30 in the morning. I am fully aware that the accident was my fault, but still, to this day I clench up over any bump.

The worst accident of mine happened the previous December. I was with my brother, driving home from school, and stopped at a red light. I was looking forward and suddenly a car comes behind me and instead of stopping for the red light, rear-ends me. My car was pushed into a dump truck and my brother and I flung forward. I looked around to make myself grounded and pulled to the side. The dump truck pulled over as well and I thought the lady that hit me did, but instead, she made a three-point turn and drove off the other way. I filed a police report and it turns out the lady did not have a license or insurance. She had no right to be on the road and this scares me because I think of all the other people that are driving, but shouldn’t be allowed. I am an understanding person, especially after all of my accidents, but after this day my awareness of the road and my belief in stricter driving safety heightened.

A driver’s license is a privilege and as a holder and a citizen, I know that to do my part I need to look out for myself and others on the road. When I drive my only focus is the road and give myself four seconds of advancement when scanning the roads ahead. My dad taught me this trick and it helped show me that if you are four seconds ahead then you are aware and see mistakes from drivers that other drivers may not pick up on and I give myself time to bare myself or change to avoid an accident. If I do my part and others do theirs then the road will be a safer place in my opinion. Keep all of the car chases in the movies and remember that Dukes of Hazards is a show, not a lifestyle.